The Eye of The Storm - 1. Rememberance

CHAPTER 6 Perks of being the newbie

Next morning, I was out of the Infirmary. I was feeling okay, my arms were strong again and I could finally feel my legs after a long time of having the strength and energy of a potato. On the other hand, my mind was a real mess. I had no idea who to trust or who to believe. Last night's meeting with Magnus and Noah made me think about it. Who was truly right? If I shouldn't believe Magnus Ozera, then why did he want to make sure I was okay?

I enter the Hermes cabin and slowly close the door as not to wake my cabinmates. It is early in the morning; the yellow sun is trying its best to get rid of the puddles that stand as a reminder of the storm which swept through camp yesterday. It's quiet, but I can hear faint footsteps coming from the other end of the room. It is the Head Counselor, in a gray T-shirt and dark blue shorts, coming to greet me. He is busy brushing his teeth with a red toothbrush.

As he sees me, he spits in the dustbin and puts his toothbrush in his pocket.

"You look like you've just came back from hell." He says cheerfully.

"Yeah, I know. I even saw the devil."

Fritz pats me on the shoulder gently and begins to laugh.

"It's to have you back, Alison!" he announces. "Things are sure really different without you."

"Nice to see you, Fritz." I reply as I hug him. "Tell me, what did I miss?"

Fritz looks around, at the sleepy halfbloods who are moving around looking for their stuff.

"Eh, not much." He sighs. "Life's going on as usual, verstehst du mich? The cleanup we've done last night and we are ought to continue it today is nothing short of the usual. We've cleared the camp of corpses and the occasional destroyed bits of trees and buildings before. We know how to move on."

There is a knock on the door. The Hermes kids aren't answering immediately so it persists for an annoying amount of time. It's loud and really persistent.

"Oh, for Hera's sake, come in!" yells Oliver from across the room.

"Yeah, fuck off!" adds Taylor. "Everyone knows the door is open, godsdamit!"

"MANNERS!" yells Fritz and the two calm down. "Man, you guys are quarreling a lot, are you? You're putting the Cabin 5 residents to shame."

He clears his throat and says:

"Come in."

In the cabin comes a black-haired girl, wearing a pair of brown loose shorts and a yellow T-shirt. Her hair is kept in a low bun, from where the tip of a pencil can be seen protruding from the hair strands. She has shiny bracelets on her arms, some made of beads and some of metal. She is wearing sandals, although the grass is still wet.

"Hello Cass!" Fritz says as he turns around to greet her, with her arms wide open. "How's my favorite Apollo kid doing?"

"Friendly as always, right Fritz?" the girl says smiling. Her pink peachy lips reveal a shiny string of teeth, like pearls in a collar. "I see you have a new apprentice."

I wave, smiling awkwardly. I hate when the conversation suddenly shifts to me.

"Alison, she is Cassandra Vanderboom." Fritz says as the girl approaches us slowly. "Counselor of the Apollo cabin and a very skilled physician and archer. Cass, this is Alison Phoenix, the girl everyone's talking about."

"Nice to meet you!" Cassandra says stretching her hand forward. "I heard a lot of stories about you; it's such an honor to meet the person behind the legend."

I reluctantly shake her hand. I don't necessary say that being famous isn't cool, I just want to know what I am famous for and why everyone is making such a fuss.